Business Management Information Systems Winner
Microserve has always placed importance in giving back to our communities and inspiring the IT business management professionals of the future. With 3 scholarships and 1 bursary awarded to students in Victoria, Vancouver, and Alberta, we hope to encourage the next generation of IT business management learners to pursue academics in Management of Information Systems. The following is an interview with Daniel Cairns, a student at the University of Alberta, who recently received the Microserve scholarship. We hope you are as excited for him as we are, and stay tuned for the next recipient interview up soon.
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself:
My name is Daniel Cairns, and I have just finished my 3rd year at the University of Alberta. I am Edmonton born and raised, the oldest of 4 siblings, and recently got engaged to my girlfriend of 4 years.
2. What are your hobbies?
I have been playing the clarinet for 9 years and am currently a member of the Festival City Winds ensemble. I also enjoy board games and fantasy hockey.
3. What is something you are passionate about?
I am passionate about learning and education. I enjoy discovering new things and pursuing my interests, and love the feeling when a new concept “clicks” in my head.
4. If you could choose to have any super power, what would you pick?
I’ve given this some thought and decided to choose the power of teleportation. We lose so much time commuting places. I would love to just instantly zip to where I need to be and take back all that lost time.
5. Are you a cat or dog person?
Cats aren’t bad, but dogs are better.
6. What is something that you think all offices should have?
A year ago this would never have crossed my mind, but my current summer job has a yoga hour on Wednesdays and I really enjoy it. It gives me a great chance to relax and de-stress mid-week.
7. What is your major in school?
Technically, it is Business Management Information Systems (MIS), which involves the study of merging business and technology in a variety of applications. I say technically because I also have significant coursework in data analytics and in computing science. This combination creates a well-rounded “three-pronged” degree that isn’t captured by any one major.
8. What are you most proud of, in school or in life?
I am proud of my overall academic success, especially my 2nd year, which I finished with a perfect GPA. It was rewarding to see my hard work pay off.
9. What is your favourite part about what you study?
I like MIS because it is versatile. There is no “optimal career path” associated with my degree as there is with say Accounting or Engineering. I am studying methods and tools to approach problems, and I can apply those techniques to almost any problem in almost any setting.
10. Why do you think your major is important?
The world is becoming more and more technologically dependent. Everything from power grids to traffic lights to checkout machines relies on a computer system, and they get more complicated every year. My major gives students the skillsets to approach and understand these systems, even if they did not build them, to be able to support the ever-growing foundation of life as we have come to know it.
11. How has winning the scholarship affected you?
Obviously, the money helps a lot, and means I can focus more time on studying and learning and less on working a part-time job. Besides that, winning this scholarship reassures me that I am studying the right discipline for my skillset, and that with continued hard-work and dedication, I can achieve more successes in the future.
Congratulations once again to Daniel!
